Sacred Forbiddance
by MotteSpark
Summary: Akane becomes a cashier at a bookstore after Ranma is gone. Little does she expect him to be one of Japan's richest billionaire- and a sexy playboy.
1. Default Chapter

**Author's Note: **Yes! At long last, I've rewritten it after I stupidly went to delete it (accidentally T.T). Okay, it's a little shorter and different (of course) from before. I changed a _tiny_ bit of the content so much so that there wouldn't even be a difference. Thank you for waiting so patiently all these years- I mean months. The second chapter will be up tomorrow. I promise. Now I just need to get a pen and write this down on my hand so I won't forget... >.

* * *

"Thank you for you patronage," Akane smiled as she handed a brown paper bag to the customer before her.She was standing behind the cash register in a shop called Fumikino, a popular bookstore situated just outside the train station. Akane smiled as several schoolgirls wandered past the store, reminding her of herself during her own school days. Her thoughts were interrupted when the bell tinkled and a customer in a dark coat and sunglasses entered. The back of his head sported a pigtail. _Just like Ranma…_

Ranma. That's right. Two years ago, the Monster Cat had out of the blue kidnapped Shampoo, Kodachi and Ukyo all at once. Akane had also been one of its target but Ranma had been with her when the Bake Neko appeared to abduct her. Hence Akane was saved from being taken away. Ranma learnt about the sorry fate of his other three 'fiancées' and being the responsible person he was, had taken off to rescue them. Akane had wanted to accompany him so that he'd have an extra pair of helping hands but he turned her down, saying that she'd only serve as an unwanted burden. And ever since then, she'd not heard any news of him.

The state of the dojo deteriorated as its only male heir was gone. The Tendous could no longer depend on it as their source of food and income. Because of this, Soun did not have enough money to support the education of two children. Seeing as to how Nabiki had a better chance at surviving the harsh dog-eat-dog world, Akane gave up her chance of schooling to her elder sister so that Nabiki could become an entrepreneur. Instead, Akane managed to get herself hired at Fumikino, one of the mostqwll-known bookstores in the region where all kinds of reading material could be found- magazines, novels, and even manga. In fact, it was almost every day when a girl would come in and squeal about how lucky Kagome was to have Inuyasha.

Taping down the edges ofa newbrown paper bag, Akane warmly thanked another customer, a young girl, for her patronage. She passed the paper bag to the girl and collected the money from her; the young girl left and the next customer stepped forward, passing a hardcover encyclopaedia to her. Akane calculated the price mentally (she couldn't let her math skills get rusty, could she?) and said, "That will be Three thousand yen, please."

All the stranger did was smirk. Akane realised that he was the pigtailed man who'd entered the store earlier on and- what on EARTH was he smirking about? This man seemed so much like Ranma in more ways than one- they both had a pigtail and the annoying tendency to smirk at every little thing she did.

"Yes?" she asked in a strained voice. Oh crap, maybe there was something stuck in her teeth. Where was a mirror when she really needed one?

"You don't recognise me, Akane?"

"Of course I don't. You're a total STRANGER-"

Akane froze as her brain slowly recognised what the person had said and who the owner of the voice was. That voice which was always so laidback and yet tended to annoy the hell out of her. The voice which comforted her when she so needed it.

The voice which abandoned her two years ago. _It couldn't be…_

Realisation dawned on her in that instant and all doubt dissipated as the stranger removed his sunglasses; Akane's voice caught in her throat and she thought that her heart had stopped from beating too wildly. "_Ranma_…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **I kept my promise! Well, it was because I didn't have the heart to break it so...(nah, just kidding!) Anyway, upon reading this chapter, there are sure to be questions, so don't hesitate to ask!I'll answer the best I can. Oh, and the last section of the chapter took place two years ago, when Ranma 'deserted' Akane. So read on, and enjoy!

* * *

She thought that her heart had stopped. Either that or it had jumped out of her chest from beating too wildly. Well, either one was the same. All she knew was that she couldn't feel anything. Her chest felt numb; her fingertips couldn't move. It was like time was frozen for her and whilst everybody else was buzzing about their daily lives, she was the only one who was as still as a statue._It can't be_… 

"Ranma."

His lips turned back into a broad grin. "That's right. What, you forgot my name or something? It's only been two years you know?"

Two years…that's right…he'd been gone for two FREAKING years.

Akane's old habit took over and reaching for the hardcover encyclopaedia, she let her brown eyes bore into his azure blue ones. "Too bad you chose such a thick book, Ranma."

And she threw it at him.

Of course, I'm sure everybody knows what's going to happen next. Yup, Ranma simply dodged it as if that were the easiest thing to do when the person throwing it happened to be less than a meter away; in other words, only a person with quick reflexes would be able to avoid getting hit in the head. At the back of the bookstore, a middle-aged man can be heard cursing, as a hardcover book happened to knock him in the back. Oops.

"Get away from me," Akane ordered in a soft hiss. Her stance hardened and all surprise and amazement was gone from her gaze. The only thing left was anger. Straining her eyes, she searched for the familiar white-haired head amongst the crowd. "Boss, I'm taking a break for the rest of the day!"

Somewhere in the crowd, Fujioka-san, a sentient old man, nodded.

Tearing off her apron, Akane headed for the bookstore's exit then turned back to face Ranma, who had walked after her. "_Don't_ come after me," she warned, pointing a threatening finger at him, before making a grand exit.

* * *

_Dammit, she didn't have to get so pissed off…_ Ranma sighed tiredly; it'd been hard to track down Akane and when he'd wanted to surprise her, she'd surprised him instead. Making sure he was a safe distance behind her, he trailed her, noting carefully that her anger hadn't seemed to decrease at all.

Ranma felt a small vibration in his side pocket. His cell phone… it was most probably his boss on the line. Ranma rejected the call and resumed following Akane who had made her way to a desolate playground. Quietly, he hid behind the trees and watched as she sat on a swing in the centre of the playground and heaved a soft sigh. Her eyes, which flashed defiance just a while ago, were now filled with defeat and…loneliness.

Ranma felt something in him clench tightly.

He crept up behind her noiselessly and without her permission, wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Endearingly, he whispered into her ear, "Boo."

He felt her instinctively tense up. Keeping her gaze in front of her, she muttered, "I thought I told you not to touch me."

He pretended to consider her words, letting a short silence emanate between them.

"If I'm right, you only asked me to get away from you."

"Same thing," she groused

"Akane," he began in an elusive voice.

He was met with silence, but he went on. "How would you like to come with me to a place outside of Nerima?"

She didn't answer. Well, he hadn't expected her to give him an answer immediately. Besides, he had not even told her what he was really trying to say.

"Ranma."

"Yes?"

"Where were you?"

"Where was I? What do you mean?"

Akane stood up suddenly, dropping Ranma's hands from her shoulders. When she spoke again, she sounded irritated. "Where were you these past two years?"

Ranma didn't answer. He asked, "Will you come work for me?"

Akane turned around, an irked expression on her features. "Stop playing around. Don't answer my question with a new question, please." She sounded so formal, as if they were two strangers who'd never met before.

Ranma stood with one of his arms akimbo. _She_ was the one who'd first answered his question with another question. "Well, what I'm asking you is related to what you're asking me. If you answer my question first, I'll answer yours."

Akane felt like laughing; it was happening again. He was stepping into her life from out of nowhere and then wanting to take control of it. This was just like how it was in the past. Strange, wasn't it? How history seemed to repeat itself naturally "I don't owe you anything- so just answer my question."

He seemed to hedge at telling her something.

Grinning knowingly, he brought his face closer to hers. "Would you believe me if I told you I'm a millionaire now?" His eyes searched hers carefully for a reaction, most likely a look of disbelief or utter shock. Watching her eyes widen imperceptibly, he commended himself inwardly for assuming correctly.

Her flabbergasted expression changed, and she scoffed, "I don't have time for your incredulous games, Ranma."

He shrugged, putting on a forlorn expression, as if there was nothing he could do to change her mind.

Eyes cast downwards, Ranma contemplated the possible consequences of what he was about to reveal. Well, if she followed and worked under him, then she'd eventually know everything. But still…he couldn't risk endangering her. He'd to minimise this factor to the smallest extent. "Well, I'm working for a secret organisation," he began, and then stopped to consider how he would explain what came next. "Basically, it follows the Jack of all trades system and accepts various types of cases such as the capture of a certain shady political leader or the obtaining of the dark secrets of underground syndicates."

"Isn't that just like what the police do? Or an undercover one?" she added the last part when she noted that Ranma did not appear to be wearing some sort of uniform.

"Come to think of it, yeah," Ranma pursed his lips sideways. "But we don't follow the law."

"You don't _follow the law?_"

"That's not what I meant," Ranma hastened to correct himself. He rephrased his words, "we're not restricted by the rules which policemen are bound to."

"And what has that got to do with my question?"

Seeing that she still did not comprehend the basis of what he wanted to tell her, Ranma decided to try goading instead. "If you want to hear more, you'll have to accept my job offer." He stood still, waiting for her response.

It was a little too late to find out that his words would have a negative effect on his fiancée. Her eyes were curtained again with some unexplainable emotion and her actions were apprehensive once more. She shook her head slowly. "No, Ranma. Not right now. I can't."

* * *

"I've got you in my trap now, Ranma!"

A white fist shot out from the darkness towards Ranma, who barely dodged it. The poison was really taking its subtle effect on Ranma. He could feel his speed decreasing rapidly and his energy had been depleted from having fought the cat continuously for over a day. Now that the cat had resorted to dirty, underhanded tricks, Ranma would have to end everything as quickly as possible before matters took a turn for the worst.

Gathering his chi into his hand, Ranma walked slowly towards the cat. This move was something he'd created on his own without the supervision or assistance of any other people. He'd never gotten the chance to try it out before; this was his first time. However, his new move was still in the first stage; he had only come up with the groundwork and never had sufficient time to make improvements. Those would come later, after he'd tried it out on the Bake Neko.

"Oi, stupid cat!" He called out to the huge, domineering figure, which, on thinking that it had the upper hand, turned in a blundering manner to face his opponent. "I just wanted you to know that you're lucky number one!"

"Ar? What?" The cat fumbled around nervously, wondering what Ranma was talking about.

The poor thing never had time to react as Ranma seemingly disappeared into thin air, only to reappear behind the cat's head. In the air, Ranma opened up his hand and brought it down, wrapping his slender fingers around the cat's head. Ranma's energy was thrown down onto the cat, whose poor brain received the greatest impact. The notorious Bake Neko fell down to the ground, shaking the land beneath him.

Ranma landed softly; and dust flew up and danced around the edges of his shoes. Brushing his hands rigorously, he watched in anticipation at how things would turn out.

The huge cat slowly turned its head up to stare at Ranma with innocent, baby-like eyes. "Mew?"

Ranma couldn't hide his grin. He'd achieved the desired results, all right. Remembering what he was supposed to be doing, he gave the cat a fierce glare. "Get out of my sight," he growled throatily. If he didn't make things clear now, the cat would make its comeback and plague him again. "And don't ever let me see you near my family or anybody that is related to me."

The cat nodded slowly, as if he was trying to understand the entire meaning of Ranma's words. After a while, it got up, and with glazed, drowsy eyes, stumbled away.

Ranma headed towards the cave where the three victims of kidnap were kept under drugs. Just as he was about to step into the dark, frigid arch like entrance, he the almost unnoticeable rustle of the undergrowth beside him. "Stop hiding and reveal yourself," he ordered the hidden party.

Amongst the shrubs, a man stood up; arms raised in a sign of surrender. Ranma assessed him cautiously; the meticulously dressed man was in his mid-thirties and had a clean-shaven look about him. But, Ranma noted without much interest, he didn't look much of a fighter. No use wasting time in dealing with him, he decided.

Ranma ignored him and resumed his rescue mission; he looked left and right for any signs of life. The man outside stopped him. "Wait, Ranma-kun."

Ranma turned around, a frown etched onto his face. How did the man know his name when he didn't even introduced himself?

Glad that he'd succeeded in getting Ranma's attention, the man clasped his hands together, ready to strike a deal with the teenager. "You're Ranma-kun, right?"

"No."

The man looked startled. Frantically, he looked Ranma up and down. "You're not? Have I gotten the wrong person then?"

"I'm just being sarcastic."

"Oh," the man laughed shakily. "Oh. Ha ha," he cleared his throat. In a more businesslike manner, he made an offer to Ranma. "I'd like to make a proposition for you."

"I haven't got any time for your rubbish," Ranma waved his hand, trying to shoo away the stranger. "So just go back to your posh, little office and spin around in those flimsy, little chairs."

"Ranma," the prim man interjected, "I'd like you to work for me."


End file.
